N.J. high court considers jail time for careless driving

About Phil Gregory

Phil Gregory brings his knowledge of politics and business to Trenton where he covers the Statehouse and Central Jersey for both WBGO and WHYY.

For 10 years, he worked at Bloomberg Radio in New York City where he anchored coverage of several major events including the 9/11 attacks and the 2003 blackout. He also covered business and market news as a reporter from the New York Stock Exchange.

Phil is a native of the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania and started his broadcast career at WAEB in Allentown, where he advanced to become News Director. He was an award-winning reporter and anchor at radio stations WPTR, WFLY and WROW in Albany, NY and at WOBM in Toms River, NJ. Phil is a past president of the Empire State Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and has been a broadcast instructor at the New School of Contemporary Radio in Albany and at Monmouth University.

The New Jersey Supreme Court is considering whether a jail sentence is justified for those convicted of careless driving.

The justices heard arguments Monday in the case of a woman who was sentenced to 15 days in jail for careless driving after her car struck a pedestrian in Red Bank in 2010, and the victim died two months later.

Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Paul Heinzel argued that a mild jail term is proportionate to the harm caused.

"The harm to the victim, the circumstance of the offense, and the need to deter weigh qualitatively very heavily in favor of a jail sentence here," he said.

The driver was not reckless, said attorney Paul Zager as he argued against sending anyone to jail for careless driving.

"If you commit something that's careless, you should not get jail time," he said. "It's as simple as that even if there is an unfortunate death."

A jail sentence for a careless driving offense is almost unheard of, said Justice Barry Albin.

"Don't you think that municipal court judges and law division judges need some criteria in order to determine whether or not to impose a jail sentence for careless driving, which is probably the most common charge filed in our municipal courts?" he said.

The eventual decision from the Supreme Court will guide municipal court judges in handing out punishments.

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